Bullfrog Productions: The earliest of our victims is Bullfrog Productions. This name might not mean much to younger readers, but the studio was among the bigger players on the video game market in the 90s. It's a classic tale of an EA acquisition (1995), followed by the original team gradually leaving and, eventually, a studio shutdown in 2001. (Credit: Bullfrog Productions)
Westwood Studios: While Bullfrog's 90s success with titles like Theme Park and Dungeon Keeper may be too ancient for some to remember, Westwood's Command and Conquer series should ring more bells. One of the more sudden falls from grace, Westwood dropped three separate games in 2002, which just shows how trigger-happy EA executives can be. The studio was closed in January 2003. (Credit: Westwood Studios)
Maxis: EA's personal simulation experts were closed in 2015, just a year following the release of The Sims 4. Maxis' "sim" origins go as far back as 1989 and the first SimCity game and they enjoyed a great 25-year run afterwards. Until EA called game. (Credit: Maxis)
Black Box: Need For Speed fans are shedding tears just at the sight of the words Black Box. The studio oversaw the best years in NFS' history before a couple of letdowns pushed EA over the cancellation line. A new Need For Speed is reportedly on the cards in 2022, but it won't be affiliated in any way with Black Box, who were shut back in 2013. (Credit: Black Box)
Visceral Games: You knew we couldn't skip over perhaps the most agrigeous demise of them all. Visceral, unlike all of our other inclusions, were actually founded by EA in 1998. The studio's main focus initially were the PGA Tour games, but they really made a name for themselves with the modern horror classic Dead Space in 2008. EA were shocked by the success of the niche game and pushed Visceral into self-destruction with demands unfit for the Dead Space franchise. That of course led to sales expectations not being met and Visceral's funeral in 2017. (Credit: Visceral Games)
We took a look at one part of EA's bad habits the other day when we listed the top 5 beloved video game series that have died under the publisher. Today we dive into another murderous streak. Games are not the only target of EA's wrath. Whole studios have kicked the bucket under this publisher's watch. Some of them were rather small, but these five studios and their work are missed dearly by many gamers alike.
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